A koala exhibit, stage shows and a rebranded water park highlight this summer's park offerings

On May 25, the San Diego Zoo will open the Conrad Prebys Australian Outback, featuring a new habitat for the park&apos;s more than 20 koalas as well as many other Australian species. CREDIT: San Diego Zoo

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On May 25, the San Diego Zoo will open the Conrad Prebys Australian Outback, featuring a new habitat for the park's more than 20 koalas as well as many other Australian species. CREDIT: San Diego Zoo

The summer season has kicked off at all of the region’s many theme parks. Here’s a roundup of what’s new at Southern California’s major amusement parks.

SeaWorld San Diego

seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-sandiego

Madagascar Live! Operation: Vacation,” a 20-minute musical stage show featuring characters from DreamWorks’ animated “Madagascar” films, will debut June 15. This past winter, SeaWorld purchased the Knotts Soak City water park in Chula Vista. It reopened Saturday as Aquatica SeaWorld’s Waterpark, with new landscaping, refreshed tropical décor and some live animal exhibits

Legoland California

california.legoland.com

Legends of Chima 4D Movie Experience,” a 12-minute, 3D film about animal warriors on a global adventure, with interactive special effects, is now playing daily in the theme park’s Showplace Theater. The park’s Sea Life Aquarium hosts World Ocean Day on Saturday. And in April, the 250-room Legoland Hotel opened next door, offering guests a choice of pirate-, adventure- and kingdom-themed rooms.

San Diego Zoo

sandiegozoo.org

Over Memorial Day weekend, the Balboa Park zoo opened the $7.4 million Conrad Prebys Australian Outback, a 3-acre themed area with exhibits for seven marsupials (including more than 20 koalas) and an aviary for more than 25 Australian bird species. The centerpiece of the Outback, which is situated in a eucalyptus grove, is a Queensland-style building housing a classroom, educational displays and a koala care center.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park

sdzsafaripark.org

On June 15, the San Pasqual Valley animal park opens Lemur Walk, a walk-through exhibit that will bring guests (38 inches or taller) up close to the big-eyed primates from Madagascar (it replaces the old Gibbon enclosure just past Lorikeet Landing). Also this spring, the park’s Frequent Flyers bird show was expanded with new birds, including Victoria crowned pigeons, painted storks and a secretary bird.

Disneyland Resort

disneyland.disney.go.com

Mickey and the Magical Map” opened last month in the Fantasyland Theatre in Anaheim’s Disneyland Park. The musical stage show finds Mickey, dressed as the sorcerer’s apprentice, creating an oversize map that comes to life with Disney adventures. On March 12, the park opened Fantasy Faire, a storybook-style village (in the place of the old Carnation Plaza Gardens) where young children can meet their favorite Disney princesses and watch a vaudeville-style Renaissance storytelling show. After opening its mammoth Cars Land attraction last summer, the adjacent Disney California Adventure theme park has no new attractions for 2013.

Knott’s Berry Farm

knotts.com

On Friday, the Buena Park theme park reopened its 44-year-old Timber Mountain Log Ride, which has been closed for renovation since January. This spring, the park opened three new family-friendly rides in its newly expanded Boardwalk area. The Coast Rider is a roller coaster with a 52-foot peak. The Surfside Gliders carries riders in airplane-style cars on an aerial spin. And Pacific Scrambler has three sets of fast-spinning cars. Also, several new live stage and ice-skating shows are now playing for the summer season.

Universal Studios Hollywood

universalstudioshollywood.com

The Universal City studios lot park has no new attractions this year, but construction will begin later this summer on a $500 million Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction where the Gibson Amphitheater now stands. No opening date has been announced, but the Harry Potter section of the Universal theme park in Orlando took 21/2 years to build.

Six Flags Magic Mountain

sixflags.com/magicmountain/

Later this summer, the Valencia park that’s home to 18 roller coasters will debut Full Throttle, billed as the tallest, fastest looping roller coaster in the world. The ride will take riders on a 160-foot loop on the inside of a track and then on the outside.